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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27361522">Project: Racoon City (A Side)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Couragous/pseuds/Couragous'>Couragous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, a fun side project, slight ooc?? maybe idk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:08:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,458</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27361522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Couragous/pseuds/Couragous</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A retelling of the events of September 29th, 1998. How could things have changed if Leon and Claire had met up sooner?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Into the City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I thought it would be fun to try and rewrite RE2 so that Claire and Leon actually manage to stick together through most the story, but with my own spin on it. Theres a couple scenes that are pretty exact to the game, but I'm trying to switch it up as much as I feel necessary. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had writing it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was hard to see anything beyond his headlights. Dawn was still a long way ahead, leaving Leon in the eerie silence of the early morning. </p><p>The highway was oddly empty as well, even for the god awful hour. Raccoon City was an industrial hub, yet he hadn’t seen a car or freighter in at least a few hours. He eyed his dashboard wearily, watching the gas gauge dip even further down. If he didn’t find a gas station soon he was fucked, but luckily he knew there one a few miles up. </p><p>Leon sucked in a breath as he tapped his fingers against the wheel. He was starting to feel nervous again. That call he’d gotten was creeping back into his mind. Everyone had seem excited for him to come so why would they tell him to stay away-</p><p>The gas station came into view much faster than he’d expected. He hurriedly pressed on the breaks and turned a little harder than he’d wanted. </p><p>Leon turned the car off and slumped back in his seat, giving himself a moment to breathe. He needed to calm down, now wasn’t the time to space out. </p><p>His eyes caught on a motorcycle in his rear view. It was seated beside a pay phone, no rider in sight. In fact, the station seemed empty. </p><p>He slowly slid out of his jeep and reached for the gas pump. It wasn’t strange for a station to be empty so early, so why did he have such a strange feeling in his gut. Leon frowned and squinted, trying to read the little numbers on the pump in the harsh fluorescent light. </p><p>A gunshot caught his attention and he jumped, whirling around and pushing himself past the jeep. His hand reached for his own pistol as more rounds rang out. </p><p>Blood was scraped across the asphalt leading to the door. Somehow he’d missed it. </p><p>He rushed up to the door and pushed it open, gun raised. A heavy smell of rot assaulted him and he faltered. </p><p>“Don’t shoot!” </p><p>It was a girl with her hands raised, her eyes wide. Behind her however, was something decidedly not harmless. </p><p>“Get down!”</p><p>She ducked as he fired. It was a walking corpse that had met the bullet, groaning as it fell back. It was a walking… corpse. Leon swallowed hard and blinked a few times. That couldn’t be right-</p><p>The girl looked back further into the dark gas station, beyond his vision. She pushed herself up hurriedly and pushed his gun away from her face. She pressed herself up against him and they stumbled out the door, which she pulled closed behind her. Leon was stuck staring at her, running his eyes over her. </p><p>Her dark hair was falling in her face, and her jacket was half sitting off her shoulder. She drew in a breath to scream something at him. </p><p>It was a walking, rotting corpse. </p><p>“We have company!” She shook his arm, “come on!”</p><p>The zombie he’d shot shoved itself up against the glass door, startling him out of his daze. He searched the lot, there were even more of them now. </p><p>His eyes found a squad car he hadn’t noticed, and he grabbed her, pulling her along. “Come on!”</p><p>They clambered into the car as fast as they could. Thank god the keys were left in the ignition. Leon turned to look behind him, he wasn’t sure why, it didn’t even matter now. He shifted gear and pressed on the clutch, peeling out of the gas station and back onto the highway, leaving it far behind them very quickly. </p><p>The girl rolled down the window as fast as she could and stuck her head out, searching the road behind them. Leon messed with the radio as he watched her. </p><p>“Are you alright?” he finally managed to ask.</p><p>“Are you a cop?” She asked incredulously as she slid back in. </p><p>“Yes.” </p><p>She whirled on him, genuine surprise lacing her face. </p><p>“Leon S. Kennedy, Ma’am,” he huffed, “you?”</p><p>“Claire,” she huffed as she leaned back and closed her eyes. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and screwed her face up. “I’m Claire Redfield,” she said at last. </p><p>“Are you hurt?” He tried again.</p><p>“No,” Claire sighed, “but thank you. What the hell is going on?”</p><p>“I-“ he couldn’t help the way his voice shook, “I don’t know. Hopefully they’ll have some answers at the police station.</p><p>They sat with nothing but the buzzing of the dead radio. The police station had absolutely nothing sending out, the line was dead. Before long the city lights appeared on the horizon and the county sign rolled by. It wasn’t long before it started drizzling, then pouring rain, but Leon couldn’t bring himself to speak. Claire seemed to feel better with the rain hitting her arm. </p><p>“Know anyone named Chris?” Claire’s sudden words startled him. She leaned to turn the radio down, which he hadn’t realized was still incessantly hissing at them. </p><p>“Chris?” Leon asked, taking his eyes away from the road, “no, I’m sorry.”</p><p>“It’s fine,” she said. She seemed much calmer now, enough to even smile at him. “I came here trying to find my brother, he’s a member of S.T.A.R.S.”</p><p>“Really? Well it’s a good thing we found each other then.”</p><p>Claire nodded and watched the buildings as their car sped by. The city was just as empty as the road. The cold air rushing in through the window was heavy with smoke and fire. Her expression fell as she rolled the window back up. </p><p>“Got cold,” she muttered sheepishly. </p><p>Leon slowed the squad car as he tried to remember the streets to the R.P.D Station. The further they dove into the city, the worse their surroundings became. Buildings were on fire, streets were blocked off, cars were crashed into a smoking maze of tangled hot metal. </p><p>A voice rang out somewhere on a loudspeaker: </p><p>“Attention all citizens. Due to the citywide outbreak, you are advised to take shelter at the Raccoon City police station. Free food and medical supplies will be provided to everyone in need“</p><p>The man’s voice seemed far too calm as it chimed and repeated. </p><p>“What the fuck…” </p><p>Claire’s eyes caught him. He sucked in a breath. He was a police officer, she was a civilian. He needed to be brave about this, he needed to pretend he had some sort of control over this. </p><p>“I guess we missed the party,” she tried for a laugh, but it died on her lips. He gave her a harder look than he meant to. </p><p>“The station isn’t much further, they’ve gotta know something,” Leon said. </p><p>“Yeah but…” Claire’s voice died on her lips. “But what if-“</p><p>“It’s a big city Claire, there’s gotta be people left.”</p><p>They were at a dead end. There was a police barricade blocking the rest of the way they needed to go. </p><p>Leon leaned down, trying to get a better look at the burning road beyond it. There wasn’t really anywhere else to go. </p><p>“Looks like we're walking from here.”</p><p>When Claire didn’t respond, he followed her gaze where it was pinned. Beyond the car, two people were hunched over another. It didn’t take much imagining to figure out exactly what they were doing. </p><p>“I think we’ll be running actually,” she hissed. </p><p>“Yeah. Good call.”</p><p>A zombie threw itself against the door as Leon reached for the handle, “Jesus fuck!”</p><p>Another one shook the car as clawed at Claire on the other side of the glass. Over and over bodies threw themselves at them. </p><p>“Leon! We’ve gotta back up!”</p><p>Harsh lights flooded into the car, catching their attention. </p><p>A truck was barreling toward them, with no sign of stopping. Ripping past abandoned cars and corpses too stupid to get out of the way. </p><p>“Claire, get out.”</p><p>“What? I can’t!”</p><p>His eyes caught her for a moment before the truck careened. It flipped and rammed their car foreward, spinning it into the barricade. It’s rear end smashed and buckled in. </p><p>Leon’s body was moving before he realized it, and he tumbled out of his seat. His hands hit the asphalt hard, but he couldn’t even feel it. </p><p>He pushed himself up and back. He could just smell gasoline under the smell of death that seemed to choke them. The car lit alight blasting him with heat. </p><p>“No. No no- CLAIRE!”</p><p>He listened for an answer but he didn’t find one. </p><p>The fire spread and before he realized it, it had reached the upturned tanker. He opened his mouth to scream for her again, but the burst of the tank’s explosion threw him against another car. </p><p>He laid there a moment, ears ringing, trying to process what the fuck had just happened. His ribs were aching and his head was pounding. His pulse was in his throat and his arms were stinging. </p><p>“LEON?”</p><p>Claire. Claire was alive!</p><p>He pushed himself up as quickly as he could, “CLAIRE? YOU’RE OKAY?”</p><p>“YEAH! I- I’M ALRIGHT! HOW ABOUT YOU?”</p><p>He used the car to balance himself, but it wouldn’t matter much. There were more of those fucked up corpses stalking closer to him.</p><p>“I CAN'T STAY HERE LONG! I'LL MEET YOU AT THE STATION!”</p><p>“ALRIGHT!”</p><p>Leon reached for the pistol at his hip, thank god it was still there. His eyes scanned his surroundings as he tried to jog past the bodies surrounding him. He tried to remember which direction the station was in, but he was pretty sure his head had smacked the stearing wheel hard enough to give him a concussion. </p><p>He took just a moment to pause and figure out where he was. A zombie grabbed at him and he had just been fast enough to push it away. He raised his pistol and shot. Over and over, it didn’t go down. </p><p>“Fuck.” He found an alley and pushed himself toward it, dancing around the zombie that grabbed at his leg. There were even more in the alley, though few. </p><p>“The whole city’s fucked. It’s outta control.”</p><p>Finally the Station came into view as he met another street with even more piled cars. He maneuvered as best he could toward it. The gates had never seemed so welcoming as he slid through them and slammed the bar closed. Anything that wanted to get in would have to chew through solid iron.</p><p>Leon took just a moment to catch his breath, watching as more zombies pushed themselves up against the gate. It held firm. </p><p>He wasn’t sure how Claire would get in though. The thought wormed guiltily through him. There was a street entrance though, if he remembered correctly. She’d just have to find that instead. </p><p>Leon pushed his way through the heavy doors. Finding the main hall of the station lit up, but strangely empty. The doors echoed as they clicked shut behind him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Welcome to the R.P.D.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before him stood Lady Justice, watching over the main hall with her flag raised and her scales balanced in her stone hand. The room was strangely silent, there was nothing but his wet sneakers clacking against the freshly polished floor.  </p>
<p>“Hello?” He asked the silence. “Anybody here?”</p>
<p>He gained no answer. </p>
<p>He limped over to the front desk, still decorated with scattered pens and files. A typewriter sat oddly by itself on its surface. On a smaller desk nearby there was a laptop, it’s monitor revealed an office room. </p>
<p>“There’s gotta be someone here,” he huffed under his breath. </p>
<p>He flipped through the cameras until finally he found someone. He leaned down closer to the screen to see better. </p>
<p>Another officer was running down a hall. He raised up some sort of book to the camera. </p>
<p>“David! Marvin!” The officer shouted. He stopped to shoot at a zombie further down the hall. “Send reinforcements! I found a way out!” He shoved the monster off of him and showed the book again, “East hallway!”</p>
<p>Leon rolled his shoulder as he stepped back. His eyes caught the doorway to the east hall, it’s shutter drawn. </p>
<p>“Alright. Guess I’m all you’ve got, guy.”</p>
<p>He stepped up to the door and frowned. There was a “keep out” sign slapped on it, caked with the same dark blood coating the doors bottom half. </p>
<p>So his day really was about to get worse, wasn’t it?</p>
<p>He pressed his hand against the door’s button and waited for it to open, just for it to get stuck about a foot off the ground. </p>
<p>Leon knelt and reached for his flashlight before he got down on his stomach. The cold made him tense up uncomfortably before he wiggled a bit under the door. </p>
<p>The floor and wall on the other side of the shutter was drenched in crimson. He had to hold back his gag as he shined the light down the hall. It was impossibly dark. It was as if nothing at all existed beyond the flashlight‘s beam. </p>
<p>Leon shuffled the rest of the way through and pushed himself up. He stepped down into the hall and right into a puddle.</p>
<p>“Aeugh,” he shined his light down to the ground. The entire hallway was flooded.</p>
<p>He huffed and set down the hall, trying to remember which way the other officer had been. It was eerily still, other than the shuddering of rain against distant battered windows. </p>
<p>He shoved himself up against a felled cabinet and heaved it back up, freeing the way to the rest of the hall. There wasn’t much beside a flooding bathroom, the locked East Office, and another locked door leading toward the fire escape. </p>
<p>Thought those were supposed to be unlocked, he mused to himself. </p>
<p>“OPEN UP! OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!”</p>
<p>Leon jolted and his attention flickered to another small office. He pushed his way in and found another shuttered door. It quaked with the officer’s pounding. </p>
<p>“I’ll get you out!” Leon tried to force the door up but it wouldn’t move as far as he’d wished. He gave up and dropped to his knees, “Give me your hand!”</p>
<p>The officer scrambled under the shutter and grabbed at him. </p>
<p>“Help me! HELP ME!”</p>
<p>“Sir, give me your other hand! I got you!”</p>
<p>Leon tried as best he could to pull the man into the room, but something on the other side was fighting him. The officer started screaming.</p>
<p>“Come on- hang in there!”</p>
<p>The officer stopped and Leon managed to pull him back but the shudder closed much too early. </p>
<p>“Oh- oh,” Leon’s breaths were coming out as shuddering gasps. He held on to nothing but the man’s top half. Everything left below his vest was a mangled mess. “Oh my god. Jesus...”</p>
<p>He was going to vomit. He was very certainly about to vomit. </p>
<p>Leon sucked in a breath and grabbed for the notebook that had slipped out of the officer’s hand. He tucked it in his back pocket and stumbled his way back out of the room, almost tripping over the desk in the middle. </p>
<p>He felt way too hot and too closed in, despite how spacious the station's many rooms really were. He was panicking, he realized. </p>
<p>The windows shattered as more zombies slid into the hall, groaning and howling as they scrambled over each other. He drew his pistol and tried to maneuver the best he could past them. Any of the ones he couldn’t, he shot at their legs, bringing them down and giving him just enough time to run past. </p>
<p>As he made it toward the shutter door back to the main hall, a zombie had jumped out from the darkness beside him. It caught him and pushed him down, pinning him to the wet ground. </p>
<p>“Get off!” Leon growled as he tried to push it off of him but in his panic it overpowered him. He howled as it bit into his shoulder. He shoved his elbow into its head and with a sickening crunch, he cracked its neck as he pushed it away. </p>
<p>He had enough time to scramble for the door and start pushing himself under, but before he got his legs through, the zombie grabbed him. </p>
<p>His hands scrabbled for purchase on the tile, but another officer quickly came to his aid. He slammed the door down hard in the corpse's head, smashing it with ease. </p>
<p>“Got it,” he huffed, “you’re alright now, kid.”</p>
<p>Leon slumped back against the floor. He had to force himself to breathe. </p>
<p>“Thanks,” he finally gasped. </p>
<p>“Marvin Branaugh,” The cop rested up against the shudder, pressing against a wound in his side. </p>
<p>“Lieutenant Branaugh?“ he asked, “Leon Kennedy… there was another officer… I couldn’t- I tried-“</p>
<p>“I’m sure you did what you could, Leon.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally he was out of his drenched clothes and into the uniform he’d been itching to wear for months. If it had been any other day he would have been smiling, but he could barely manage a quirk in his lips. He double checked his belts and the pouch on his hips. He was as prepared as he could possibly be. </p>
<p>“So…” Leon started, trying to break the strange silence, “does anyone know who started this?”</p>
<p>“No,” Marvin huffed as he looked over the station's cameras, “not a clue. Honestly all you need to know is that this place will eat you alive if you’re not careful.” </p>
<p>The intense look in the lieutenant’s gaze chilled him. </p>
<p>“Yeah well… I would have been here sooner if I’d known. I was supposed to start last week but I got a call to stay away.”</p>
<p>Marvin’s shoulders shrugged like he’d tried to laugh, “You should have listened, this place is burning down to the ground, Leon.”</p>
<p>“Not if I can help it.” </p>
<p>Marvin looked at him with intrigue before he looked back to the cameras. “Do you know this girl?”</p>
<p>Leon came closer, leaning over Marvin’s shoulder. On the monitor was a gate, sitting down against it with her gun in her hand was a familiar silhouette. </p>
<p>“Yes! I knew she’d make it!” </p>
<p>“So you do know her?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Leon hissed excitedly, “her name’s Claire, I came into town with her.”</p>
<p>Marvin leaned back in his spot, grimacing, “you can get to that courtyard through the second floor, east side. You’ll need a special key though, should be able to find it in the west wing.”</p>
<p>“Alright… okay lieutenant, I’m ready.”</p>
<p>Marvin reached for something on the beat up couch he sat on. “You’ll need this.”</p>
<p>He was shoving a combat knife into Leon’s hand. </p>
<p>“I can’t take this- you-“</p>
<p>“I have my gun, rookie. Beside, you can’t get that door open with your damn fingernails, though I’d like to see you try.”</p>
<p>Leon frowned and took the knife. “I don’t wanna just leave you here.”</p>
<p>Marvin grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer, “Don’t make my mistake, Leon. Take care of yourself and your girl first. I’d come with you but I’d just slow you down. I’ll be alright on my own.”</p>
<p>Leon nodded and went to pull away but Marvin pulled him back, “If you see one of those things—uniform or not— you do not hesitate. You take that thing out, or you run. Got it?“</p>
<p>“Yes sir.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Spade Key</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The West Hall was just as dark and uncomfortable as the East Hall, but at least this one wasn’t flooded. A discarded flashlight lit up the end of the first corner, basking the corridor with an eerie pale light. It laid at the foot of another officer, whose radio crackled and sputtered to life as Leon approached.</p>
<p>
  <b> <em>This is 73-Bird— for rescue. —heading east— River. Touchdown at R.P.D. —minutes—</em> </b>
</p>
<p>Leon squatted beside the officer, checking him over. He pushed his head back and grimaced. The officer’s jaw was barely hanging on. His face had been slashed in two. A clang caught Leon’s attention and he froze. His eyes caught on another corpse, hanging from a bent pipe along the ceiling. </p>
<p>“Jesus, <em> fuck… </em>”</p>
<p>Slowly, he stood and pressed himself up against the windowed wall, creeping past the two dead men. He didn’t trust anything to stay down at this point. </p>
<p>He pushed himself back as a window broke further down the hall. He tripped past the zombie that had crawled out and pushed his way into the Operations Room. It was a cluttered mess of desks and chairs. He found another door locked with chains and to his relief, a proper map of the station taped to a whiteboard. </p>
<p>Leon pushed himself onto a crate and peaked out a high shattered window. It seemed to be the rest of the blocked off hallway. He climbed over and landed hard on his feet. He crept up and shot at the hulking zombie standing in front of a vending machine. He went through half a clip before the thing finally fell. Everything in this hellhole seemed to soak bullets up like a sponge and the closer his clip got to empty, the more nervous he grew.</p>
<p>Leon shined his flashlight up at the higher floors above him as he finally reached the stairway up. It was just as grossly dark as the rest of the station. The creaking of the building and the distant groaning of the dead made his determination falter, so instead he investigated the room beside him on the ground level. He crossed the little room and flicked on the light, illuminating a sort of storage room. On the little table in the middle of the room was another typewriter with spare ink ribbons laying beside it. There wasn't much in the room’s lockers or the large case in the corner of the room but he did find more ammo tucked away on one of the shelves. The rest of the room, separated by a doorless entryway, was a darkroom. It’s curtain was drawn back and nothing important seemed to be laying around. </p>
<p>He sat down for a moment in the room’s lone chair and gave himself a moment to think. How the hell was he going to do this?</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>He crept down another narrow hall, his pistol drawn and his flashlight focused on the darkness. The second floor had given him nothing worth noting other than loose ammunition and some small safe he’d spent a good ten minutes trying to unlock. The third floor he hoped, would hold the key he was looking for. </p>
<p>Leon tensed as he saw a shadow on the wall. He jumped into the doorway ready to shoot, but he lowered his pistol. It was just a statuette seated in front of an upturned lamp. Beside that, was a pretty special looking key.</p>
<p>He turned the thing around in his hand, the top of which was a blue spade. He tucked it away and backed out the way he’d come. He rushed down the steps and shot at a few zombies that tried to rush at him and pushed his way into the West Office. It was a room he’d missed on his first way through. </p>
<p>He swept his flashlight over the room, it was mostly littered desks with name plates on them. He quickly recognized Marvin’s name on the desk seated beside his own. He settled his hand on own his desk. <em> This </em> was what his first day was supposed to be like. He was supposed to be sitting with his fellow officers. He was supposed to be smiling and learning peoples names, he was supposed to be out <em> helping </em>people. Instead, Leon was stuck in this fucking haunted house.</p>
<p>The sign hanging above his desk just made him angrier. <em> WELCOME LEON, </em>it said in bright yellow letters. A burning, flooded building was one hell of a welcome gift. </p>
<p>The only other door in the room, beside a side office with a safe he couldn’t open and a very angry zombie, had a spade emblazoned on it. When he unlocked the door, he found himself back in the Main Hall. </p>
<p>He jogged over to where Marvin was seated. He was still on the couch and luckily still conscious. </p>
<p>“I found the key, I’m gonna go get Claire.”</p>
<p>Marvin huffed, “That’s good kid. She’s been sitting out there for a while now,” he handed over his radio, “give this to her when you find her, just in case something separates you again.”</p>
<p>“Thank you-“</p>
<p>“<em> Don't- </em>“ Marvin waved him off, “don’t thank me yet. Turns out that officer, Elliot, seemed to have found a way out of the station. He thought the statue here was the key.”</p>
<p>“That’s great!” Leon shifted on his feet as he came closer, “we can get you to a hospital.”</p>
<p>“No, no. I am <em> not </em>the priority here.”</p>
<p>“I’m not just going to—“</p>
<p>Marvin gave him that look again and he froze up. “I am giving you an order rookie. You go find Claire and get the hell out of here. There’s these statues around the station, you’ll need their medals to open the way. Their combinations are in this book.”</p>
<p>“Alright," Leon drawled, "I’m sure with Claire’s help we’ll get it done in no time…”</p>
<p>“You better hope that's true, kid.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As he jogged down yet another hallway, a helicopter rushed by the door’s window and screeched as it rammed into the station's wall. It shook the boards under his feet and almost knocked him to the ground. He shoved the balcony door open and was hit again with the heavy rain, drenching his uniform quicker then he’d like as he crashed against the railing. He looked over the wrecked chopper and the rest of the fire escape. It was empty. So was the gate.</p>
<p>“Claire?” He hollered. When she didn’t respond, he tried again. “CLAIRE?”</p>
<p>“IM HERE!”</p>
<p>She was jogging around the corner and stopped to catch her breath at the gate. </p>
<p>“<em> Hey </em>,” she smiled. “Work here often?”</p>
<p>“Funny.” </p>
<p>He couldn't help the relief that flooded in his chest at seeing the twitch of her lips. If they'd made it this far, whos to say they couldn't make it a little further.</p>
<p>“It’s so nice to see you,” Claire said as she gripped the fence. “How are you doing? That helicopter came out of nowhere…”</p>
<p>“Yeah- I'm in one piece. How are you?” Leon tried for a smile, but he didn't think it looked very genuine.</p>
<p>“You know, just surviving."</p>
<p>Leon tried the gate and frowned. It was locked. </p>
<p>“Oh!” Claire clapped and reached for her back pocket. “I found the key in the guard room!”</p>
<p>“That’s awfully convenient,” Leon huffed.</p>
<p>Claire rushed in and locked the door behind her. As she did, the helicopter caught fire. An alarm blared to life somewhere in the station and she flinched. </p>
<p>“You know what that means,” Leon hissed. </p>
<p>“Dinner time.”</p>
<p>It didn't take long for zombies to start reaching through the distant wrought iron fence. It was buckling under their sheer mass. Leon searched the tiny courtyard for anything useful, but Claire already seemed prepared. She rushed to the door beside them and cut through the chains locking it closed. </p>
<p>Leon grabbed the Matilda as they rushed to the locked East Office. Again, she easily sliced through the chains and pushed the door open. He ducked into the side office and swiped a round handle, it seemed important, as did the bottle of gunpowder discarded on a dresser. Claire shot the few zombies already in the room and nabbed a fuse off the desk closest to the blocked exit. </p>
<p>“Come on,” Leon hissed as he moved a chair that had been pushed under the door’s handles.</p>
<p>“The fuck happened in here?” Claire said as she slid past him. “I thought this place was safe?”</p>
<p>Leon shook his head as he approached the shutter blocking them from the main hall. Beside it was a fuse box, which luckily, Claire had just the right fuse. Slowly, the metal gate slid back up and they ducked into the room.</p>
<p>Claire was looking at everything in awe. The hall truly was massive, spanning three stories.</p>
<p>“You know,” he started, “this place used to be a museum before it was a station.”</p>
<p>
  <span>“The fuck happened in here?” Claire said as she slid past him. “I thought this place was safe?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Leon shook his head as he approached the shutter blocking them from the main hall. Beside it was a fuse box, which luckily, Claire had just the right fuse. Slowly, the metal gate slid back up and they ducked into the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Claire was looking at everything in awe. The hall truly was massive, spanning three stories.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know,” he started, “this place used to be a museum before it was a station.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Really? Who the hell turns a museum into a police station?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Leon shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>When they reached Marvin, he was laying on his back. He was unconscious, but he was still breathing. When a heavy look passed over Leon's face, Claire stepped in. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Is he alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh,” Leon wasn't quite sure how to answer. Instead he remembered the extra radio Marvin had given him. He reached into his hip pouch and shoved the clunky thing into her hand. “Here, in case something happens.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“In </span>
  <em>
    <span>case</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Claire eagerly took it from his hand, “Leon, are you okay? I know that sounds like a dumb question-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leon quickly shut her down, “no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>, im fine. Marvin here gave it to me to give to you, as a ‘just in case’. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tucked it into her back pocket and gave Marvin one last fleeting look as she followed Leon up the stairs. He was staring at the book Elliot had had. He hadn’t seen any statues as he’d been looking for the spade key, but apparently the solutions were in with the poorly scribbled writing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what's our plan?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Leon mentally slapped himself in the head. He forgot to tell her the fucking plan? He really needed to get his shit together. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Another officer found a way out,” he handed the journal over and pointed to the sketch of a lion, “the first medallion we need is in the statue here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>the creepy museum station has a cryptic puzzle,” she sighed. “Alright. Show me your moves wonderboy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He eyed the statue's base. “What's it say?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh- a lion, a… branch? And a bird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a few clicks, he pushed the tiles until they were in their proper order. The statue gave a loud creak as it released the medallion in Lion’s copper badge. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Claire laughed as Leon gave her a look of triumph. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Any idea where the other two are?” she asked as she came closer.</span>
  <span></span>
    <br/>
  
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Vaguely? I think they’re on the upper floors.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claire stopped to consider, “I know splitting up is the worst thing we could do right about now, but it would go faster if we each looked for one of the statues. I can take the third floor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as he wanted to protest, she made a good point, “so we split up at the stairs, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gave him a shrug, “I'm sure you know this place better than I do.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>heyo, within the next few days ill be updating chapter 1 and 2. I didn't realize until after they were posted that they weren't formatted correctly, there were supposed to be plenty of italics akjdjkdjk. anyway, thanks for reading this!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. S.T.A.R.S.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Leon watched Claire eagerly stalk down the locker room, checking which of them held anything useful. She huffed angrily as she found that half the cases she couldn’t even open. The locking mechanism was missing keys. </span>
  <span>He checked his gun’s clip for the third time as she raided the Security Deposit room. He was on guard duty, making sure no antsy corpses came rushing in to attack them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Leon, you a shotgun kinda guy?” Claire said from across the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really?” he drawled as he came closer. He wouldn’t lie though, Claire’s sudden remark did peak his interest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kept in a glass case at the back of the room was a shotgun and a single pack of shells. Beneath it was no doubt a grenade launcher that she already had her dibs on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Claire stood with her hands on her hips and an expectant smile on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have a keycard if that’s what you’re wondering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged and stood back, aiming her little gun at it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on, that’s not gonna-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He raised his hands to block the glass that shot from the case. Somehow a little .45 caliber handgun had completely blasted through it. S</span>
  <span>he took her sleeve and broke away the rest of the glass that pooled around their feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here’s your first lesson. I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Redfield</span>
  </em>
  <span>, nothing’s impossible for me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I noticed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She handed over the shotgun and eagerly strapped the launcher over her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This should make our lives so much easier,” Claire huffed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Leon heavily doubted that, a shotgun </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> help if he got cornered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She led them both back into the East Hall and toward the stairs, looking up at them with narrowed eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure you remember the codes?” Leon asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Definitely,” Claire started her way up the stairs, “and if I don’t, I’ll just give you a call.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped at the second floor and watched her for a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He trudged into the second floor locker room and to his own surprise, the turn handle he’d found earlier did end up being useful. He’d forgotten about the broken pipe that had blocked him from the rest of the second floor and the S.T.A.R.S. Office. No doubt if Claire wanted to find her brother, their first stop was there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon stepped through a hole in the wall and paused. He aimed his pistol at a corpse slumped over on a bench. Before he could shoot, it fell limp on the floor. He fired a round into it’s leg just to be sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new hallway he stepped into was much darker than the last. The wood floor was slick with rain that battered through broken windows. He snatched up a box of shotgun shells and loaded a few into the barrel. He had an awful feeling creeping in his gut. </span>
  <span>He aimed at a nearby corpse but it made no move to jump at him as he crept by. Something jumped out of the corner of his vision and he jolted. </span>
  <span>He pointed his flashlight up at the ceiling at the far end of the hall. Some new kind of fucked up monster was ripping a body apart, it’s massive claws keeping it pinned in place. He vaguely remembered a memo he’d found. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The skinned beast was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>licker. </span>
  </em>
  <span>whoever had left the note said they were blind, so as long as he was quiet, he could make it to the S.T.A.R.S. Office no problem. Right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon kept to the wall, his shotgun raised and his eyes wide in the darkness. It dropped the body and crawled along the ceiling like some kind of fucked up spider. He stood still and held his breath as it clacked against the ceiling. It stopped and careened its head toward him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was almost certain the licker had seen him somehow. Maybe it could hear the pulse pounding in his throat. Leon‘s fingers itched to pull the trigger, but after another heartbeat, it slinked further down the hall. </span>
  <span>He risked looking away for just a second to let himself into the office and closed it quickly behind him. He didn’t lower his gun until he was certain it wouldn’t come in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The office he found looked untouched, a thin layer of dust coating the desks and no sign of a frantic mess like in the rest of the station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He fumbled for his radio, “Claire, I found the S.T.A.R.S. Office, but there’s no sign of a statue yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, her voice crackled through the speaker, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I found the lady statue, but I can’t get to it, I need a battery for this detonator.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” He asked as he stepped into another side office, “cause you won’t believe what I just found.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re kidding!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He could practically hear the smile in her voice, he couldn’t help a small smile of his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“D battery?” there was one sitting on the old desk as though it was waiting for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“D battery. Holy shit Leon, you’re a saint.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you at?” he asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m in some storage room. It's next to the library.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He made a mental note in his head as he searched the rest of the office. “I’ll come find you right away, but first I’ve gotta get this unicorn statue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Alright. See you soon. Don't die.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon found a spare bottle of first aid spray and some shotgun shells. He found a lone flash grenade, but nothing else worth taking. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a weapons locker behind a locked terminal that did catch his attention. </span>
  <span>So did the desks. While there was nothing notable in their drawers, he did find Chris’ desk. Tucked away under a book was a single note, detailing a trip to Europe he’d been on for what Leon assumed was a while now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did he even know what was happening here in Raccoon City?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon tucked the note into his pocket and readied himself to slink back into the hall. He peaked out the door and didn’t find the licker. He eyed the walls and the ceiling. Nothing was there</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he didn’t risk running. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was nearly at the end of the hall when his radio blared to life, screeching in his ear and echoing in the empty space. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey, Leon? I forgot to mention—“</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The licker, which had gotten much closer to him than he’d realized, roared as it quickly figured out it wasn’t alone. It rushed at him. Something wrapped around his leg and yanked his bottom half up, knocking him onto his stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I found some kind of weird zombie up here. I took care of it pretty quickly with my “new best friend”. But— you should be careful—“</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon flipped himself over and fired off his shotgun. Though he’d shot the licker in the head, nearly point blank, It staggered only for a second. It slashed at him but luckily it’s aim was shit. It couldn’t cut very far through his vest, but it did manage to slice open his shoulder pretty bad and cut into the base of his neck. He grunted as he reached for his combat knife. Before it could attack again he rammed the blade into its throat and forced himself back up. He fired again and again until it’s body stopped writhing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pressed his finger against the outcall button, “Claire,” he gasped, “has anyone told you that your timing is terrible?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah? Chris says it all the time."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed to himself and staggered down the rest of the hall, his hand pressed against the cut in his throat. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. On the other side, </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank god,</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the unicorn statue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He put the combination in and grabbed the medallion. The other door in the room led into the Library. </span>
  <span>When he finally made it to the storage room, he found Claire waiting by a gate at the far end of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit, Leon!” She rushed over and reached into the pouch in her hip, she pulled out a roll of bandages. “What happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon just shook his head and sat against a small table, “Here’s your battery.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck the battery! Let me see your neck!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Claire pried his hand away and pushed his other one away. She pulled a bottle of antiseptic out of nowhere and started dabbing at his throat. It stung like hell, but it wasn't worse than the way the wound was already throbbing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of those things you killed was in the hall,” he decided to leave it at that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Goddamn</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she was done cleaning him up, she reluctantly took the battery from his hand. He noticed the way she favored one leg as she stood, her other calf was wrapped in bandages.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are… </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>okay?” he asked, still pressing against his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'm fine,” she said honestly, “one of those motherfuckers on the stairs grabbed my leg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hummed in response. She popped the battery and pressed it up against a pack on the wall. “We gotta stand back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room shook as the pack exploded, opening the way to the last medallion. Claire got the medallion as quickly as she could, while Leon shot at a zombie that lurched at them. Unlike the licker, the shotgun had taken this one down in one go. Maybe this thing would make things easier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The way back to the Main Hall was quick and easy with Claire’s Quickdraw Army and his own W-870. They hurried down the stairs and to the Lady Justice statue, eagerly placing the medallions in their little alcoves. The base of the statue slid down and away, revealing steps leading down to a gated door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon knelt down beside Marvin, “Lieutenant? We found a way out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks like it goes underground,” Claire said as she walked toward them, “Leon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lieutenant Branagh?” Leon went to shake him, but the officer jolted up. The growl on his lips quickly died into a pained grunt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marvin, we did it. It’s time to go, if we’re fast enough, Spencer Memorial isn’t far-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Marvin huffed. He eyed Claire worriedly and looked back to Leon, “No. Save yourself rookie, you’ve got better things to worry about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t just leave you here!” Leon hissed </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go!” Marvin shouted back, “we both know how this is gonna end!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leon-“ Claire started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young cop stood and glared down at the Lieutenant. “Just let me </span>
  <em>
    <span>help</span>
  </em>
  <span> you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leon froze as Marvin pressed his gun to his chest. He could hear Claire’s breath catch in her throat behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leon, it’s too late. I tried, dammit, but I couldn’t stop this,” Marvin tightened his grip on the pistol and Leon’s throat bobbed. “We can’t let this thing spread. It’s up to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dropped his hand and with it, his gun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Leon</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Claire whispered. She grabbed his arm as gently as she could. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Come on</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His feet felt like they were stuck to the ground. He was stuck rigid in anger, and he knew Marvin could tell. Grudgingly, he let his gaze drop and let Claire drag him along. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I won’t let you down Marvin. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He wanted to speak the words, but he couldn’t get them past his lips.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. You Alright?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He sucked a breath in and let it out. He ran his hands down his face and stared back at they way they’d came.</p><p>“Leon?”</p><p>Their exit had closed up behind them in a series of clicks, leaving them in the dark. After a moment, the lights flicked on, revealing a strange hidden office. It looked like the only way to get it back open was the crankless spoke beside it. </p><p>“Leon?” Claire tried again. </p><p>“<em>W</em><em>hat?" </em> he didn't like the spike of anger in his voice. It just made him feel worse.</p><p>She hesitated before finally settling on her words. He could practically see the gears working in her head.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” she started. “You did what you could for him.”</p><p>That seemed to be the theme today.<em> You did your best, Leon! You tried! </em> Well his best wasn’t good enough. His <em> best </em> was getting people killed.</p><p>Claire was still staring at him, her blue eyes wide and expectant. </p><p>“<em>Thanks </em>,” Was all he could manage. </p><p>She gave him a pat on the shoulder and lingered for a moment. It looked like she wanted to say more, but she pulled away and searched the room instead. It was a rather small, round office, with a single desk and some tables. On one of them was a model of a vaguely familiar mansion. Everything was oak and polished, but not dusty.</p><p>“Hey, this elevator works!”</p><p>Leon followed her voice and pushed across the room. Inside a doorway and a small hall was a single elevator. It was as strangely ornate as the rest of the room. </p><p>“Looks pretty rickety,” she hummed.</p><p>“Seems fine to me. Besides, we don’t have any other way out.”</p><p>Claire shrugged and stepped in. Leon followed and waited a healthy distance away. He could tell the entire ride down that she was breathing funny. Her eyes were focused on some part of the floor and her teeth were clamped firmly down on her bottom lip. </p><p>“I take it you don’t like elevators?” he tried for a smile as they stepped out. They were in some sort of basement, standing on a stairwell. </p><p>“Is it that obvious?” Claire asked . Despite her wobbly smile, her cheeks were flushed. </p><p>A clang caught their attention lower down the stairs. A door had opened on the next platform. Leon reached for his pistol and motioned for Claire to follow. He pointed his flashlight at the bottom floor, and deeming that nothing was hiding amongst the barrels and loose boards strewn about, stepped through the opened door. The red light beside it seemed like some kind of warning. </p><p>It was strangely quiet in the basement, devoid of zombies and blood. It looked like no one had been down here in a while. On the other side of the door however, was a much more industrial style rafter. They were surrounded by pipes and more metal, with another pathway above them. </p><p>“Where the fuck are we?” Claire asked as they walked through. “Did you know this was here?”</p><p>“No,” Leon said honestly, “I’ve only been in the station myself a few times.”</p><p>Claire’s response was cut short by clanging above them. Something was up there moving. </p><p>“What the—?” Leon watched through the grate, trying to get a better look. Whatever it was was panting and limping along.</p><p>The hall led into a large machinery room. The platform they stood on looked out over a Smokey tangle of electrical boxes and tanks. Claire slipped by him and stopped at the door at the platforms end. It was blocked off by a shelf that had fallen over. </p><p>“Hey Leon, could you move this for me? I can’t get it to budge. This looks like the way through.”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>He pressed himself up against the shelf and hefted it back into place. </p><p>A little girl scrambled back from her place behind the shelf. She fell back on her butt and screamed. Her blonde hair was a mess of tangles and her face was flushed with tears. <em>W</em><em>hat in God's name was a kid doing down here?</em></p><p>“Hey! Hey it’s okay, I’m a police officer!” Leon tried to step closer to her, hands raised. “We’re not gonna hurt you.”</p><p>“Let me handle this,” Claire said as she approached. Leon scooted past her to give them some space. </p><p>She knelt down and smiled, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”</p><p>The girl opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She was shaking and pushing herself back. </p><p>“Do you need help?” Claire asked. “Why are you down here by yourself?”</p><p>“You… y- ou need... <em> help </em>.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, I can’t understand you.”</p><p>“<em> You need help </em>,” the girl repeated. She pointed toward Leon, who shifted nervously on his feet. </p><p>“Why?” Claire asked before he could. She was much better at this than he was. </p><p>The girl scrambled further back, “He’s right behind you.”</p><p>“Leon?” Claire laughed. "Hes just a big teddy bear, I swear."</p><p>When the little girl didn’t match her smile, she spun. Towering over them was a fucking <em> monstrosity.  </em></p><p>Leon scrambled to push her back and she landed hard in the room beside the little girl. He didn’t have the chance to shoot before the creature grabbed him around the middle. It’s claws bit through his vest and he hissed through his teeth. It looked like a man but it’s right arm was completely mutilated. A massive, gnarled mess of muscle and sinew with a massive eye in it‘s shoulder. It roared as it threw him to the ground. </p><p>Claire pushed herself up enough to shoot at the creature, but her bullets didn’t seem to bother the thing at all. It caught the officer before he could scramble any further back. </p><p>It grabbed his vest and slammed Leon over and over against the grate. The metal groaned and buckled and his ribs and back screamed in protest. </p><p>“Get the <em> fuck </em> off him!”</p><p>Claire fired something that exploded against it‘s back. Flames erupted from the round and the bridge finally gave way beneath them. The air knocked itself from his lungs as Leon hit the grate beneath them. The creature was staggered just long enough for him to catch his breath and push himself back up. </p><p>“LEON?” Claire shouted. He could see her standing at the platform’s broken edge. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”</p><p>“I’M FINE!” He gasped and doubled over. His back really <em> fucking </em> hurt. “WHAT ABOUT THE GIRL?”</p><p>Claire spun and looked behind her. </p><p>“I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE WENT!”</p><p>Leon shrugged off his shotgun and cocked it. The motherfucker was getting back on his feet. </p><p>“I’LL BE FINE! I'LL CATCH UP LATER!”</p><p>He didn’t stick around to wait for her response, instead, Leon led the creature into the maze of tanks they’d landed in. </p><p>He fired one shell and another, but it didn’t let up in it’s pursuit. It had pulled off a pipe and dragged it behind as a makeshift weapon.</p><p>Leon growled as he staggered back, he was barely managing to keep enough distance between him and the monster-man. It was waving it’s pipe around like wild. </p><p>He shifted his attention from the man’s head to the eye on his shoulder. He tried for his pistol instead and reloaded as fast as he could. He raised to shoot again, but it was closer than he’d thought. It grabbed Leon by the head and forced him to his knees. He shot frantically, hoping something would hit. It seemed like some kind of god was listening, because the man staggered back, leaving Leon huffing in the ground. Quickly, he pushed himself back up and away. </p><p>Leon raised his eyes to the room he’d last seen Claire in. He hoped she was alright.</p><p>The monster screamed and charged toward him again, pulling him from his thoughts. It caught him in the back with it’s pipe and knocked him to the ground, the Matilda sliding from his hand. </p><p>“<em> No </em>,” he started to push himself up, but the monster grabbed Leon by the back of his vest and yanked him up. He panicked, wishing he’d gotten that combat knife back. </p><p>He reached for his belt, feeling for anything to help. He could tell the thing was rearing up to throw him again. His hand caught on the cylinder of a flash grenade he forgot he’d nabbed. He grabbed it and threw it to the ground, shutting his eyes tight and turning away. Even then, he could see the flash behind his eyelids as it exploded. The man dropped him and staggered forward, gripping at his face. With wide eyes and ringing ears, Leon scrambled back. His pistol was still there, taunting him as the man kicked it aside. </p><p>He pulled his shotgun off his shoulder again and checked the clip, he only had a few shells left. </p><p>Leon stood and sucked in a deep breath. He huffed out a breath and cocked it. </p><p>“Come on you ugly motherfucker!” He hollered. All this screaming was really starting to make his throat hurt. “You wanna kill me? You have to fucking catch me first!”</p><p>It growled as it charged for him again, slamming down at the empty air Leon had just been standing in. He cocked his shotgun and fired, over and over. The eye was quickly going from a disgusting yellow to an even worse inflamed red, spewing puss as the shells but through it. </p><p>He had one left. One shell left. When the monster went to grab him again, Leon shot. </p><p>The man staggered back, crying out as the arm writhed and pulsed. It’s back slammed up against the railing of their platform and fell over the side, screaming until it was too far down for Leon to hear. </p><p>He lowered his shotgun and dropped it. He doubled over and grabbed his thighs, gasping.</p><p>“What the fuck…” Leon hissed, “<em>what the fuck.” </em></p><p>He jumped as a ladder struck the ground. He grabbed the shotgun, staggered to the center of the platform and eyed it.</p><p>“Somebody’s watching me… Claire!”</p><p>No one answered so he shrugged and looked around at the electrical boxes around him. Was he forgetting something?</p><p>His hand went to his holster and he frantically looked for his pistol. He ducked into the last hall he’d seen it in and slowly knelt down, growling past the pain creeping up his back and his leg. He reached under a tank and pulled the Matilda back out with a relieved sigh. Leon felt much better with it in its place at his side. </p><p>He set up the ladder as fast as he could, but his back was <em> really </em>fucked. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take at this point. </p><p>He checked a few small rooms, finding nothing much more than gunpowder. He crept across a bridge, not trusting the monster to not crawl back out of the depths he’d fallen into. Leon found himself in another little room with a typewriter. What one was doing down here? He had no clue. He did find an extra hip pouch that Claire must have missed, and the extra storage space was welcome. Across the room and down a hall was another ladder. He didn’t like the idea of going up wherever it led without any ammo, but there didn’t seem to be any on his way here. He wasn’t gonna get anywhere with just gunpowder and the single clip he had left in the Matilda wasn’t very comforting. Where had all his bullets gone?</p><p>At the top of the laser was an already moved manhole cover, revealing the station’s parking garage. The change of scenery was welcome, but that just meant they hadn’t made any real progress. </p><p>Leon shook himself out and set toward the garage’s exit, it’s heavy metal grate locking him in from the rest of the world. Better yet, he didn’t have a fucking keycard. His first day of work and he hadn’t thought to grab it. </p><p>“Dammit,” he muttered. “Gotta find Claire.”</p><p>He started to turn when he heard a low growl. He turned and froze, there was a <em> dog </em> lunging at him. </p><p>It knocked Leon to the ground before he could raise his pistol, knocking it once more from his grip. He hoped this wasn’t becoming a habit of his. </p><p>“Get off,” he hissed, holding the Doberman back but it’s throat. It was snapping at him, flinging spit and barely far enough that it’s craning neck couldn’t reach his face.</p><p>He risked reaching for his gun, but he couldn’t reach. He was already exhausted from the awful fight he’d just been through and now this?</p><p>He jolted as a bullet soared through the dog’s throat, showering his shoulder and cheek with dark blood. He laid there for a moment before he remembered to grab his gun. </p><p>“Stay sharp!” A woman hissed at him</p><p>He raised the Matilda and swallowed hard, unlatching the safety. “Who are you?”</p><p>The woman stepped closer, into one of the overhead lights. She was wearing a tan trench coat, beneath it, she oddly wore heels and stockings and she hid her eyes behind a pair of wide sunglasses. </p><p>“Lower it,” her own pistol was pointed at him. She whipped her dark hair out of her eyes and raised a badge, “FBI.”</p><p>Leon huffed out a breath and lowered his gun. “Sorry— Thank you—“ he risked.</p><p>She shot the dog again as it started to raise it’s head. It fell limp once more beside him. </p><p>“For your help...” he finished.</p><p>“Honestly I’m surprised you made it this far. You’re not very specially aware for a cop.”</p><p>He frowned and changed the subject, “FBI huh? What’s going on here?”</p><p>She started to turn away from him, “That information’s classified, I’m afraid.”</p><p>Leon pushed himself up and followed her, “Where are you going?”</p><p>“Sure are a desperate one, aren’t you?” She turned on her heel and pinned him with her raised eyebrows, “do yourself a favor: stop asking questions and get the hell out of here.”</p><p>She started walking away and Leon could <em> tell </em> he didn’t like this woman one bit, “ <em> Hey </em>, I’m not done talking to you!”</p><p>She scoffed and opened a door leading further into the station’s basement, “well I’m done talking to <em> you, </em>Officer.”</p><p>With that, she closed the door, leaving him to figure out whatever the fuck just happened on his own. </p>
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